Go ahead call me a pig. Because if you are what you eat, well then after this– I’m a pig! A pretty pink pig with cilantro green eyes. Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins with Black Sesame Bacon Brittle.
This bit of piggy perfection is a cross-cultural thing of beauty. Mexican Chorizo, Asian Sesame Seeds and good old American applewood-smoked Bacon. Plus there’s the yin and yang of sweet potatoes and sour cream with enough spice to make you look twice. Oh and candy. Everyone likes candy. I told you I was a pig.
If you’re a reader with any kind of allegiance you may remember my last post was all about the bacon brittle. I wanted to highlight it on its own because… well, it’s bacon brittle. I still bow down to the god of bacon every now and again. Bacon, Bourbon and Bargains. But I digress.
The real reason I brought bacon brittle into my life was to use it as a condiment on these sweet potatoes. The unexpected sweet crackle it brings to these potato skins is a playful nod to the sticky sweet Thanksgiving side dish of my youth. But all that pork and all that spice certainly makes gobble gobble take on a whole new meaning.
I made these as a bring along to a poker party with The Table Set. You’re going to hear a lot more on that later. You’ll see a lot more too because Andy made a genius of a video that night. You’re going to wish you’d been there to eat these bad boys yourself. Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins with Black Sesame Bacon Brittle. But I digress once again. That’s a video for another day.
Because all this pretty prose is really just jibber jabber. What you really need to know is that these potatoes are not just baked. They’re not even merely twice baked. Nope they’re thrice baked, and they’re certainly loaded. GREG
Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins with Black Sesame Bacon Brittle serves 6 Click here for a printable recipe
- 3 lb sweet potatoes, small & even in size and length, about 5 to 6 inches long
- 3/4 lb mexican style chorizo, about 3–4 chorizo links
- 1 t kosher salt
- 1/4 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t chili powder
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1/8 t cayenne pepper
- 1/8 t freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 oz grated parmesan
- 1 c black sesame bacon brittle (see recipe)
- 1/4 c sour cream or mexican crema for garnish
- 1 bn cilantro for garnish, leaves only
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the sweet potatoes and then prick each tuber all over with a knife so steam can release while baking.
Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and cook until tender, about 45–50 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine the kosher salt, cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, ground cayenne and cracked pepper.
Carefully slice each cooled sweet potato one in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scoop out the interior, moving it to a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle some of the spice mixture into each sweet potato hollowed out skins. You might not use it all. Return the skins to the oven to firm up, about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, remove the chorizo from the casings. Discard the casings and cook the chorizo in a large skillet over set over medium heat until well browned. Add about 1 cup of the reserved sweet potato to the chorizo and mix until well combined. Remove from heat. Save the remaining sweet potato for another use.
Carefully spoon the chorizo-sweet potato mixture back into the sweet potato skins. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake an additional 15 minutes.
Serve warm garnished with the bacon sesame brittle, sour cream, and cilantro leaves. Find recipe for Black Sesame Bacon Brittle here.
